0:00

Welcome Chop

0:00

nation to another new week,

0:03

which you all know what that

0:03

means. Another new exciting

0:06

episode. I missed you guys. I

0:06

know it's only been a week but

0:10

I'm excited to dive right into

0:10

it introduce our new guest

0:14

speaker and to provide relevant

0:14

information so you all know what

0:18

that means. Let's chop it up

0:27

Welcome to your top rated global

0:27

podcast that is your one stop

0:32

shop for everything

0:32

entrepreneurship, self

0:34

development, and smart

0:34

investment decisions. This

0:38

podcast is hosted by owner Dr.

0:38

And creator Dustin Steffey were

0:43

blessed to have accolades that

0:43

include a 2022 nomination by the

0:47

People's Podcast Awards, in the

0:47

category of business money

0:52

donated to two amazing causes

0:52

cystic fibrosis, and the Boys

0:56

and Girls Club. Lastly, global

0:56

recognition of gaining top 50

1:01

podcast in four countries.

1:01

Without further ado, let's chop

1:06

it up. I do have an exciting guest on I

1:14

think you guys are gonna love

1:18

him. He's very charismatic. He's

1:18

fun to be around. Let's

1:22

introduce him in so I have the

1:22

CEO of Costa Rica call center.

1:26

And before you guys start

1:26

saying, oh, call center guy.

1:30

Let's Let's give him a chance.

1:30

All right. He also has the

1:34

largest pinball collection in

1:34

Costa Rica. So if you all like

1:38

pinball, you're gonna love this

1:38

guy. And then he did get his BS

1:41

degree from the University of

1:41

Arizona. I am going to

1:44

definitely ask him how he got a

1:44

degree from the University of

1:48

Arizona considering all the cute

1:48

girls that are there when I was

1:51

there last so Richard Blanc,

1:51

welcome to our show, my friend.

1:57

So happy to be

1:57

here today. Can't wait to be

1:59

chopping with fire insurance,

1:59

some great ideas with you and

2:01

your audience.

2:03

Absolutely. It's

2:03

going to be fun. But first and

2:05

foremost, how the hell did you

2:05

graduate from the University of

2:08

Arizona with all the beauty over

2:08

there all the everything over

2:13

there? I mean, you know, it's a

2:13

lot.

2:16

The main thing is how did I get into the University of Arizona if it

2:18

wasn't for avington Senior High

2:22

School given me a college

2:22

recommendation letter, there's

2:24

no way I would have been able to

2:24

get into that university. And so

2:28

what I've done is I doubled down

2:28

on my favorite class, which was

2:32

Spanish. And when I moved out to

2:32

Arizona, I decided to also be a

2:36

communication major. I focused

2:36

on rhetoric, public speaking and

2:40

nonverbal communication. And

2:40

combining those skills. I landed

2:43

a job with Telemundo during

2:43

college as an intern and post

2:46

grad with Corona beer. And then

2:46

at 27 years old, my good friend,

2:51

I was given a one in a million

2:51

opportunity to move to Costa

2:54

Rica. And here we are today.

2:57

And you sure as

2:57

heck took it, which is awesome.

3:00

So I mean, Spanish I flew. I

3:00

took Spanish from kindergarten

3:04

all the way through my undergrad

3:04

myself. I studied abroad in

3:09

Torino, Italy. And I also

3:09

studied abroad in San Sebastian.

3:13

So yeah, I have some travel

3:13

adventures. I definitely got

3:18

saved when I got back home

3:18

because the cultures are so

3:21

different. But we're waiting

3:21

fast paced here compared to

3:25

where I've been. So

3:29

I figured this

3:29

out as a young man. You know, a

3:31

lot of the times you might have

3:31

opinions that are provided for

3:34

you and pressures in regards to

3:34

choosing your career. And I

3:38

didn't go to Harvard Law like

3:38

grandpa, I didn't go to Columbia

3:41

Business like Potts. And I

3:41

didn't go to Washington and Lee

3:44

like my older brother. So I

3:44

didn't have the structure,

3:47

discipline or the maturity. But

3:47

this one I did have, I had the

3:50

drive. And I knew that languages

3:50

could open doors for me, I it

3:56

came naturally to me, I had the

3:56

fidelity so I studied it and did

4:00

the dedicated practice outside

4:00

of class. So obviously I was I

4:03

was growing. And I knew that if

4:03

I was the only one out of 20 of

4:07

my friends that was bilingual,

4:07

there is a very good chance that

4:11

could translate for an attorney,

4:11

speak for a doctor and read

4:14

contracts. I saw the advantage

4:14

and there was also a huge

4:18

positive reinforcement, All the

4:18

world's a stage. So every day

4:21

when I left, I could go outside

4:21

and speak with people and have

4:24

fun and ask what words were and

4:24

it really just from movies and

4:28

music, to books, to just

4:28

everything you couldn't help but

4:33

continue to grow this skill. And

4:33

so I tripled down on it. I

4:37

wanted to earn a living from it.

4:37

And I believe that if you can

4:41

get past your parents guilt, and

4:41

you can live life with honorable

4:45

intentions, then by all means

4:45

you should have the grit to go

4:48

for it. And I don't regret a

4:48

single day.

4:53

You know, it's

4:53

funny because as I was growing

4:55

up, I feel the same sentiment

4:55

languages are important. like

5:00

English, for me, obviously is my

5:00

primary, right. But I know how

5:04

to speak for other languages as

5:04

well, too, because I saw the

5:07

importance of understanding

5:07

them. And I use some of that in

5:13

all of my businesses, to be

5:13

honest with you. So I think it's

5:16

a scalable skill. That's

5:16

important. And if you have a

5:20

passion to learn it, you should

5:20

learn it.

5:23

Of course, but

5:23

how about this, I'm a guest in

5:26

this country, Dustin, and I'm

5:26

3000 miles away from you and my

5:29

mother. So the things that I

5:29

hold important in Philadelphia,

5:33

in Arizona really sometimes

5:33

don't have any importance here.

5:37

It's really about your essence.

5:37

And we spoke prior to jumping on

5:40

a podcast about keeping an open

5:40

mind, and respecting different

5:44

traditions and cultures. And

5:44

even though I might have a

5:47

slight accent, I believe that

5:47

anyone that speaks languages,

5:50

bears the mark of higher

5:50

education. So I was able to

5:54

initially, really show good

5:54

faith, really show my intentions

5:59

to understand where somebody

5:59

else was coming from. And, and

6:02

I'm the kind of person that

6:02

likes to talk last, to where,

6:06

you know, I like to really know

6:06

about more people. So I can

6:11

become better friends with you.

6:11

And that's the most important

6:14

thing. And so this really has

6:14

been keeping me on my toes, I've

6:18

never lived a more enriched

6:18

life, every day is new for me.

6:23

And it's very humbling. The fact

6:23

that I'm celebrating a 15th year

6:27

in business and an extremely

6:27

competitive industry. I've had

6:31

people with me over a decade.

6:31

And having that sort of

6:36

reinforcement. And people that

6:36

are encouraging me to continue.

6:41

I must be doing the right thing.

6:41

I I follow labor laws, I extend

6:46

empathy and dignity. And I tried

6:46

to do my utmost to try to be the

6:54

best boss they ever had. And to

6:54

be a mentor, my goal is to be

6:57

the last boss they ever have.

6:57

And what's interesting, Dustin

7:00

is the first day prior to going

7:00

into any training class, I put

7:03

them into my arcade. So they

7:03

start with recess and dessert

7:06

first. And I ask you a question,

7:06

how many owners of a company do

7:11

you know that have worked with

7:11

you, and about 10% Raise. And I

7:15

say that's a shame for them, but

7:15

a benefit for you. Because you

7:19

do deserve this, you deserve

7:19

this sort of momentum and wind

7:23

in your sails. And don't put me

7:23

on a pedestal where I know your

7:29

name. I mean, I'm just a man.

7:29

And then the kind of thing is

7:32

where I put my pants on the same

7:32

as everybody else. And so if you

7:38

can reduce any sort of fear,

7:38

because it's a morbid

7:41

anticipation is something that

7:41

hasn't happened yet. Any

7:43

campaign is 10 times easier in

7:43

the learning a second language.

7:47

But why fear may? If you're not

7:47

breaking the law, why are you

7:50

afraid of a cop? You're not

7:50

cheating on a test? Why? Why

7:52

fear a teacher. And if you're

7:52

coming to work, Dustin Pena at

7:55

the ready, on time, eager to

7:55

learn, and for me to delegate,

8:00

so I can extend my branches and

8:00

routes and grow with you. This

8:04

is not playtime anymore. This is

8:04

not kindergarten, you're making

8:08

power moves now. And I take this

8:08

sort of career and this early

8:13

20s stage of their lives in a

8:13

very delicate way. With leverage

8:19

my friend, you could hire fire

8:19

make or break. I prefer the

8:23

former. And with that leverage,

8:23

all I want to do is increase

8:26

your self confidence. And Dustin

8:26

your self reliance that I

8:31

believe is the best leaders.

8:33

See, and that

8:33

that's that's some good stuff

8:36

right there. Because watch this,

8:36

we all know that we've worked

8:40

for someone where we've

8:40

absolutely disliked it right.

8:45

And it makes us less likely to

8:45

perform. In my opinion. I know,

8:51

I have a bunch of friends that

8:51

we've talked about, like our

8:55

different jobs, we've talked

8:55

about the different managers,

8:58

we've talked about the different

8:58

bosses, and the most common

9:01

pattern that I see is in a world

9:01

of constant change. And the job

9:08

roles changing and piling on

9:08

more work and whatever are out

9:12

tends to take a dip and nobody's

9:12

addressing it in and you're an

9:19

anomaly my friend. So let's,

9:19

let's let's put your pedestal to

9:22

the side for a sec. You're an

9:22

anomaly, right? Like you are

9:27

what everybody dreams of having

9:27

as a boss owner, whatever, you

9:31

know, but the reality is, and

9:31

the reason why people are going

9:36

into entrepreneurship right now

9:36

is they're tired of working for

9:40

the man. They're tired of

9:40

working for other people.

9:42

They're tired of doing someone

9:42

else's job chasing someone

9:46

else's dream and making their

9:46

dreams a reality wall. This this

9:51

employee is just hitting a dead

9:51

end, right? And so that's kind

9:57

of a it's kind of a big deal and

9:57

I Uh, you hit a couple of these

10:01

points. But what I was going to

10:01

what I was going to lead into

10:05

was obviously, we're an

10:05

entrepreneurship podcast. So

10:09

what made you? And what sparked

10:09

you to open up your own business

10:13

and go into entrepreneurship?

10:13

And how did you to add on to

10:17

that? How did you develop and

10:17

who you are today? How did you

10:20

develop into knowing what your

10:20

people need, getting to know

10:25

them all that stuff to create

10:25

this sort of success track that

10:28

you have? We will be right back

10:28

after a quick break. Hello, chop

10:34

nation, I hope all of you are

10:34

enjoying the guests and content

10:38

we share weekly. Now, I need a

10:38

favor from all of you. There's a

10:43

ton that goes into making it

10:43

successful podcast. And most of

10:47

this can't be done without your

10:47

support. So please head on over

10:52

to your favorite social media

10:52

platform. And please follow us.

10:57

This is important so we can

10:57

communicate important updates to

11:00

all of you. Also, we love

11:00

hearing from all of you. So

11:04

please drop us a comment and let

11:04

us know how we are doing.

11:08

Lastly, if you haven't left us a

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five star review yet, please

11:12

head on over to your favorite

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11:15

podcasts on and drop us a

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review. We really do appreciate

11:19

all of you and the continued

11:19

support as we look forward to

11:23

dropping more fun and relevant

11:23

content.

11:27

These allow me to

11:27

zig and zag and give you a

11:29

supreme pizza. Versus you use

11:29

the word for no I believe in the

11:34

word with someone who works with

11:34

me it's synergy. So if I can't

11:37

even start there, there's no

11:37

roundtable that's number one.

11:41

Number two, I believe in the

11:41

Chucky Cheese philosophy. No one

11:45

shows up at your birthday party,

11:45

guess who has no friends. The

11:49

people have leverage, you can

11:49

keep pushing that morale low and

11:53

keep bending until they break.

11:53

But the market speaks. People

11:58

can always quit. And in my

11:58

industry, Amazon is here HP,

12:02

Intel an Oracle so I'm going to

12:02

be hard the following day. And

12:07

so what happened? Let's let's

12:07

look at this in a very realistic

12:10

way. I have more natural

12:10

attrition Dawson than then

12:15

forced attrition. Listen, if if

12:15

Billy is not coming to work on

12:18

time and Joey's getting stoned

12:18

at lunch and Bobby is just not

12:21

making his calls for labor law.

12:21

I'm gonna have to cut you from

12:25

the team. I am accountable for

12:25

this. But let's talk natural

12:28

attrition. Let's say there's a

12:28

scheduling conflict few

12:31

University How about if your

12:31

boyfriend or girlfriend works

12:34

somewhere you might want to work

12:34

there could be closer to your

12:37

home and transportation is

12:37

pretty big i i know there's

12:39

hybrid, but some people still go

12:39

into an office for training. And

12:43

also finally there are certain

12:43

certain centers that might be

12:47

more lucrative than mine. Let's

12:47

be realistic, they might have a

12:50

campaign that that deals in

12:50

larger commission. And so but

12:55

nobody will ever leave my call

12:55

center because I made them cry,

12:59

I had to face them on the floor.

12:59

Worst case scenario gave them a

13:03

walk of shame. We don't do

13:03

things like that here. I've

13:07

invested in you, I believe in

13:07

you. If you don't give me two

13:10

weeks notice and you just bounce

13:10

that's on you. And I started

13:14

strong with you, you could at

13:14

least give me the benefit of the

13:16

doubt. But I understand I it's

13:16

difficult sometimes in regards

13:19

to hiring and some people are

13:19

burned out. But let's just not

13:22

go there. What happens then,

13:22

then I'll call my clients with

13:27

no surprises, I will make

13:27

suggestions. And then I will

13:31

also be able to solidify and

13:31

have a foundation in a

13:35

relationship because character

13:35

is judged during chaos, you're

13:39

chopping with fire. Fire can be

13:39

used for warmth there can burn

13:44

it depends on how you use it.

13:44

And so I'm not calling somebody

13:47

up happy with that news. But I I

13:47

run to that situation as quickly

13:53

as I can. Because the more time

13:53

that you use with it, the more

13:56

frustration and I'm a big boy,

13:56

now I have my impulse control

14:01

and maturity but But getting

14:01

back to the people I invest in

14:06

their future, I let them know

14:06

that I just don't write checks

14:09

for any entrepreneur that would

14:09

like to start a company. It's

14:13

best to know it from the ground

14:13

up even if you need to sweep the

14:16

floors first just to see how

14:16

long the rows are in a call

14:19

center. And so for me, I sat in

14:19

the cubicles for four years I

14:23

saw the good and the bad, the

14:23

happy and the sad. I heard the

14:26

gripes and I saw when people

14:26

were elated. I understood how

14:29

metrics could be reached. And

14:29

when people are asked for an

14:33

unrealistic expectation. Or

14:33

possibly supervisors or owners

14:39

do not extend any sort of

14:39

empathy or bedside manner

14:41

because there may be things

14:41

outside of the office that could

14:45

be affecting your performance,

14:45

your beautiful daughter for an

14:48

example, if she's having a great

14:48

day you're bouncing on clouds.

14:52

If she said that breaks, it

14:52

died, and I can completely

14:55

understand that. And so if

14:55

somebody wants the best out of

14:58

you, they need to know to you.

14:58

And prior to you, I need to know

15:02

me first. And I need to look in

15:02

the mirror, I need to make my

15:06

own bed I need to work out I

15:06

need to show up on time. Because

15:09

if I can't be the example, how

15:09

in God's name Can I ask these

15:11

people to do the same? But I do

15:11

give them some Philly guilt, I

15:15

do call the balls and strikes. I

15:15

just won't call you Chief, as a

15:20

yo das and you did great. Last

15:20

Thursday, you got 14, what's

15:24

going on today? I know what you

15:24

can do. And so, you know, I'll

15:27

call you out on it because I

15:27

want you to win. And maybe I'm

15:32

the only mentor that ever did

15:32

it. Maybe I'm the only teacher

15:35

that told you that your tie is

15:35

crooked. Or even someone like

15:39

myself, like being an individual

15:39

that would that would really

15:43

emphasize looking at the

15:43

Thesaurus so you can expand on

15:46

your similes, that you can work

15:46

on your vocabulary. So you avoid

15:51

words like help us like guide

15:51

asst lend a hand. These are

15:57

things that can adjust tones.

15:57

These are things that can be

15:59

said. And so I have a lot of

15:59

very astute and advanced tips

16:04

and tricks not for manipulation

16:04

for lying, but both for

16:08

preserving conversations for

16:08

allowing me to for 15 rounds to

16:12

make my case and then doesn't

16:12

from an educated point of view,

16:17

my clients will make a decision

16:17

to either move or not move

16:20

forward with me.

16:23

So let's address

16:23

let's address what we were

16:26

talking about in the beginning,

16:26

which is sure, I'm sure my

16:29

listeners are like you work in a

16:29

call center, you own a call

16:32

center. What What led you to

16:32

that and let's let's kind of

16:37

smash some assumptions on call

16:37

centers as well too, because I

16:41

sure as hell know how important

16:41

they are. Because when I need

16:45

something done, or some help or

16:45

some tech help, I'm going to a

16:48

call center so I know how

16:48

important they are. I just know

16:51

that today in this day and age,

16:51

a lot of people just dislike

16:57

them and kind of have their own

16:57

preconceived notion on them.

17:01

Sure,

17:03

every vertical

17:03

has bad players, you might have

17:06

a bad dentist, a bad mechanic, a

17:06

bad restaurant, you know, might

17:10

get that bad experience and

17:10

Hollywood glamorizes The Wolf of

17:16

Wall Street and boiler room

17:16

Glengarry Glen Ross, the prime

17:21

gag, you name it, there's so

17:21

many movies out there where

17:24

people are slinging stock. Well,

17:24

listen, there's five campaigns

17:28

we don't do here. I don't do

17:28

casinos, sportsbooks pharmacies,

17:32

sweepstakes or stocks. I've,

17:32

I've nothing against it. But

17:37

this is a very strict Catholic

17:37

country. So I want to ensure

17:42

that the agents can go home and

17:42

tell their parents what they do

17:44

for a living. And I don't

17:44

compromise my ethics values or

17:48

morals to earn $1. But today, a

17:48

lot of companies are preferring

17:54

omni channel, non voice support,

17:54

filling out forms sending emails

18:00

chat, well, it's Layton, you

18:00

might be Miss communicating, and

18:07

increasing your frustration.

18:07

I've recommended even encouraged

18:12

as strongly as I can to my

18:12

clients in the industry to still

18:15

keep those channels of live into

18:15

personal communication. And I, I

18:20

can give you four very, very

18:20

good reasons why it's worth the

18:23

money. The first is you can get

18:23

an upsell. How about a

18:28

retention? What about a

18:28

referral. And let's be big boy

18:33

about this worst case scenario,

18:33

Dustin, you're losing the

18:37

client. But they're kind enough

18:37

to give you an exit interview.

18:43

And so you might be losing $1

18:43

today, but you could be earning

18:46

$20 In regards to the advice

18:46

that they give you, or what your

18:50

competition had done in order to

18:50

earn their business. And so

18:54

there was a sort of things that

18:54

I take personal, of course, but

18:57

then again, the only way for

18:57

self improvement is self

19:00

analysis. And if multiple people

19:00

are saying something, and you

19:04

see a pattern that should be

19:04

addressed, and you can put your

19:07

ego so I just just try to look

19:07

at things in a certain way and

19:11

solve them. And so those are the

19:11

sort of steps that I've taken

19:15

and for my own mental stability,

19:15

so I can calm down I can land

19:20

the plane and so the hard up

19:20

intense situations I have to be

19:26

able to manage with a level

19:26

head.

19:31

So when you were

19:31

27 and you had the opportunity

19:34

to go to Costa Rica, where you

19:34

already under the assumption you

19:38

were going to own your own business and it was going to be a call center and did it just

19:40

lead to that?

19:42

Absolutely not my

19:42

friend. I had no clue but I

19:45

didn't know this. I knew

19:45

momentum. I was bilingual and

19:47

Spanish barn door was open

19:47

opportunity was there a good

19:51

friend of mine owned a call

19:51

center. I wasn't going in sea

19:54

level. But it was very nice. I

19:54

had a nice desk by a window with

19:58

a nice chair. As I was really

19:58

great, and my friend extended me

20:03

for years of employment where it

20:03

was only supposed to be 60 days,

20:08

but I never fought for something

20:08

harder in my life when I walked

20:11

off the plane in Costa Rica,

20:11

August 15 2000. Besides the

20:15

weather being beautiful, I fell

20:15

in love. And when I went to the

20:19

call center for the first time,

20:19

it's a very young environment.

20:22

This was even for cell phones,

20:22

people were old enough. And so

20:26

you're working off old Cisco

20:26

phones and excel sheets with

20:29

highlighter pens. But I saw some

20:29

engaged engagement, I saw people

20:33

standing up and speaking I saw

20:33

high fives I saw intense

20:36

concentration. I saw pride in

20:36

their work. Most people in the

20:39

United States see call center

20:39

work and telemarketing as a

20:42

transitional job that they might

20:42

look down upon it while in Costa

20:46

Rica if you're talented that

20:46

pays more than most vocation,

20:48

so, so Dustin, some of my agency

20:48

here can earn more than doctors

20:52

and attorneys, and some of them

20:52

even have those titles. So what

20:56

did I say? misconceptions, I saw

20:56

an extremely young environment,

21:01

I got the skin one last time, I

21:01

was put in an environment where

21:06

it was not a forced fit. Sure, I

21:06

had to learn what a CRM was a

21:10

Plantronics headset and

21:10

understand metrics and KPIs and

21:14

scripts and rebuttals. Well,

21:14

fine. That's, that's the, you

21:20

know, the tough part. The easy

21:20

part for me was my personality.

21:25

And for most people, it's the

21:25

reverse. What do I do I love to

21:30

name drop. I love to ask

21:30

clarifying questions. I love

21:34

transitional sentences. I love

21:34

using personal pronouns to reset

21:39

tones by using your Rs, I can

21:39

give it a quarter second slide.

21:44

I was one of the cats that used

21:44

to use military alphabetic. When

21:47

I was prospecting, I used to do

21:47

a company named spike. So I

21:50

would say the name of the company better than you and ask how the company's doing, I would

21:52

snap you out of it, where you

21:56

would say, Oh, we're good. Thanks. Or what are you selling? Oh, no, I sounded like a mystery

21:58

shopper that belong there. And

22:02

then when I was properly

22:02

introduced the gatekeeper, I

22:04

gave them a positive escalation.

22:04

So if Kathy transferred me to

22:09

you, prior to introducing

22:09

myself, I'd like to know how

22:12

amazing he is. I'll do it

22:12

verbally. And I would also do it

22:15

in writing. And then I would at

22:15

least put me at a foul point

22:19

percentage compared to three

22:19

point or even half court. And

22:22

then the Richard circle Dustin's

22:22

complete, because when I call

22:25

your company back chopping with

22:25

fire, and I'm happy to be back,

22:27

Kathy just answered the phone

22:27

again, and remembers me, not

22:31

only remembers me, says,

22:31

Richard, in the five years I've

22:33

been working here, you're the

22:33

only one that mentioned the work

22:35

that I did. Not only that,

22:35

Richard, but I am going to give

22:39

you a plethora of our company

22:39

culture, I'll give you his

22:42

direct extension, his daughter's

22:42

birthday was going on here. So

22:47

when you custom make your

22:47

voicemail, you're right, that

22:52

email, you might not even go to

22:52

the LinkedIn profile or the

22:55

website, you're getting all the

22:55

goodies. So they realize you've

23:00

done your due diligence, that

23:00

you're really showing good faith

23:03

prior to contact, and playing

23:03

those percentages, which could

23:07

be repeated over and over again,

23:07

because it's authentic and

23:10

sincere. It's beautiful. And so

23:10

most people when they calm down,

23:16

they look at my credentials. And

23:16

from an educated point of view,

23:19

after speaking with me a couple

23:19

of times in answering their

23:22

questions and feeling my fire

23:22

that aside the throw their hat

23:27

in the ring and move forward and

23:27

work with me. And it's been

23:31

beautiful that way. I've only

23:31

seen about 20% of my clients 80%

23:35

and worked with me. So I don't

23:35

see any Go figure. My smile can

23:39

can span 3000 miles.

23:43

I mean, I think

23:43

that's the problem with today's

23:45

society, to be honest with you,

23:45

everything that you had just

23:49

mentioned, is what I call soft

23:49

skills, right? Of course, it's

23:53

no secret, that technology has

23:53

been evolving and evolving and

23:58

evolving. And I even see this

23:58

with my daughter, my daughter

24:02

does not have the same soft

24:02

skills that I do, does not talk

24:06

to people in the same way as I

24:06

do. Because she's grown up with

24:10

a phone in her hand or a tablet

24:10

or internet or whatever the case

24:14

may be. So I think a lot of the

24:14

issues that entrepreneurs and

24:21

businesses and even employees

24:21

and employers have is the fact

24:26

that we aren't as good at the

24:26

soft skills anymore as we used

24:30

to be like back in 1960. Right

24:30

there. There are no handshake

24:36

deals anymore or good faith.

24:36

It's all like, show me your

24:39

cards, or my data can disprove

24:39

you or whatever the case may be.

24:45

There's none of that

24:45

personalization anymore. And I

24:48

think that that's so critically

24:48

important. I know for me, as

24:55

chopping wood fire gets bigger,

24:55

I know I'm going to have at some

24:58

point a staff at Some point,

24:58

whatever the case may be, I want

25:03

to be able to be personable with

25:03

them, I want to be able to make

25:07

sure they enjoy the job that

25:07

they're working, and that

25:10

they're growing and gaining

25:10

value. And I sometimes feel

25:14

like, that's kind of the

25:14

disconnect these days is, what

25:18

value are people getting working

25:18

for the companies that they're

25:21

working for? And morale, maybe

25:21

his down, because people aren't

25:27

really, really diving into the

25:27

details to keep people on with

25:32

personal stuff, you know?

25:35

I do. But I also

25:35

believe that if you can get 1/10

25:38

of 1% of a certain industry, you

25:38

could be a millionaire. So

25:42

listen, I like people that like

25:42

me. And if someone's better, I

25:45

may not have the time for them.

25:45

I will see if I can readjust the

25:49

tone. Don't blame me on what

25:49

happened on the last call. And

25:53

maybe it's just a dog that likes

25:53

to bark. I'm okay with that.

25:57

Maybe someone likes to drop F

25:57

bombs and meetings. Fine. But I

26:02

tell you what, I'll allow

26:02

somebody to work with me a

26:05

certain way. But there's

26:05

absolutely no way I will allow

26:10

an overzealous supervisor to

26:10

start cursing on the floor. I

26:15

know you do it in Chicago, we

26:15

don't do it here. And I don't

26:18

like when people write in

26:18

uppercase letters. And it's

26:21

almost like they're yelling at

26:21

you or, or I've had some people

26:24

even do things in the color red.

26:24

They wrote in red, my call my

26:28

client go, yo Ryan writes in

26:28

red, you don't do things like

26:31

that. And so it's not good. And

26:31

so things that happen back home

26:37

may not work here. And so as I

26:37

say before, you have to

26:40

understand the Costa Rican

26:40

culture, and realize that por

26:43

vida, pure life is our mindset

26:43

here. We're exceptionally

26:47

talented. But then again, we're

26:47

peaceful. And that's going to

26:50

come over the phone. And so, you

26:50

know, it's kind of fun, he does.

26:54

And I'll actually reject more

26:54

clients than I accept. It's not

26:58

that I don't want the business.

26:58

But it might just not be right

27:02

fit for the Costa Rican agent.

27:02

And I tried to explain that. And

27:07

so I can live with myself

27:07

ethically, by default. It's

27:12

almost like I'm pushing it away.

27:12

And sometimes you're like,

27:14

Richard, even with all those

27:14

bombs, I still want to work with

27:16

you I go, that's just not going

27:16

to do it. Because as much as I

27:19

put the ads out there, you might

27:19

have an attrition, as much as

27:22

you would have a list that's a

27:22

size of 400 numbers, I'm going

27:26

to burn through that within a

27:26

day on a predictive dialer,

27:28

milking it on manual dialing

27:28

three. But that's not enough for

27:31

a month where the work and you

27:31

keep talking about morale for

27:34

the agent, you need to put gas

27:34

in that car. And you got to have

27:38

a certain balance of them, or

27:38

they'll burn out or get

27:40

frustrated with you. It's very

27:40

labor intensive. And there's a

27:44

ton of investments that we make

27:44

in them. And so, once again, I

27:50

think that entrepreneurs that

27:50

are younger should keep an open

27:54

mind and not be afraid to ask

27:54

questions. I myself if I may. I

28:00

grew up in the 70s and 80s. But

28:00

my speaking influence came from

28:06

much earlier than that I I used

28:06

to enjoy Basil Rathbone and

28:10

Jeremy Brett to BBC actors that

28:10

had amazing rhetorical delivery.

28:16

As Sherlock Holmes, I remember

28:16

Remington Steele and, and Dirk

28:20

Benedict is Faceman on the 18th.

28:20

Templeton pack. And so people

28:25

today, if they need to study

28:25

certain sort of deliveries,

28:29

those are the ones that I chose.

28:29

They were old school cool before

28:32

the technology. And they really

28:32

did their due diligence in

28:35

regards to their delivery and

28:35

their strategy and diplomacy.

28:40

And that's my style. And so

28:40

there's nothing wrong with

28:44

listening and practicing and

28:44

borrowing somebody's

28:48

transitional sentence, in your

28:48

opinion that that was done

28:53

perfectly. And someone that's so

28:53

well practice and well versed.

28:57

It's okay to share or colleagues

28:57

of speech. In fact, what you're

29:02

doing us is incredible, you're

29:02

reaching 10s of 1000s. In fact,

29:06

your work is so good. I wrote

29:06

you and said you're the man and

29:10

may I come on the show. And

29:10

there's so many people out there

29:14

you have even met yet and will

29:14

never meet that you've

29:17

influenced. And that sort of

29:17

butterfly effect can go a long

29:22

way. And so, you know, really,

29:22

I'm thinking about paying it

29:26

forward. And I always think

29:26

about the good coaches, bosses,

29:31

teachers and friends that I had.

29:31

That said, Go Richard go.

29:36

Because at the end of the day,

29:36

my friend, you're on your own

29:39

forced march, as many people who

29:39

may cheer you on the sideline.

29:44

Dude, you're in the game with

29:44

the ball and there's nothing you

29:46

can do. And mommy can't make a

29:46

phone call for you and your

29:49

buddy can throw down a 20 and

29:49

get you out of it. It's all on

29:53

you. And as long as you put your

29:53

chest out, shoulders back and

29:57

chin up and you do the things I

29:57

As you were raised by your

30:01

grandparents, and you have the

30:01

full faith in yourself, then by

30:06

all means, go for it. And I

30:06

think this chances are in your

30:11

favor.

30:14

You brought up

30:14

something that I can relate

30:16

with, which is everyone that's

30:16

been in my corner from grade

30:19

school all the way up until now,

30:19

the whole reason and the whole

30:23

point that I started this was

30:23

because I wanted to give back

30:28

where I got my education, what

30:28

I'm able to provide and

30:32

influence individuals in a way,

30:32

or a manner that helps them. And

30:38

I think that that's so super

30:38

important. And I think it's also

30:41

important to pay homage to where

30:41

your roots are and where you

30:44

came from. And I'm not talking

30:44

about just my parents or

30:47

grandparents, because we all

30:47

know like some people, including

30:50

myself, have had a rough

30:50

upbringing. But what about the

30:55

people that were around for my

30:55

rough upbringing, that propped

30:58

me up instead of me, propping

30:58

myself down? You know, so I

31:04

agree with you and kind of

31:04

everything in every aspect that

31:08

you had brought up with that. So

31:08

I just wanted you to know that

31:11

and I'm sure, with every episode

31:11

you've listened to you kind of

31:15

have an idea of where I come

31:15

from. So

31:18

Oh, yeah, I pay

31:18

forward because I believe in

31:21

chivalry. And besides my family

31:21

and friends, I also have a very

31:24

strong loyalty to my high

31:24

school. If it weren't for that

31:27

college recommendation letter

31:27

from the late principal, Norman

31:30

Schmidt, I would have never

31:30

gotten into Arizona, my grades

31:33

were not that good. I was just

31:33

very active in sports and, and

31:36

student government. But I've

31:36

been giving a Second Language

31:40

Scholarship for the past six

31:40

years for graduating senior

31:43

second language so I can pay for

31:43

their books freshman year. And I

31:46

was asked to be the 68th

31:46

induction National Honor

31:53

Society, keynote speaker as

31:53

well. And this is a kid that did

31:56

not get honor grades. And so

31:56

it's a spiritual thing. I'm

32:03

doing this for not only my

32:03

classmates, but it's the

32:06

tradition that came before me.

32:06

And the fact that I'm that sort

32:10

of man that did not break that

32:10

sort of loyalty and commitment,

32:14

and really tries to bring people

32:14

together and get so excited for

32:19

things and it's not like I'm

32:19

living vicariously through high

32:22

school, what do you expect, I

32:22

was the class partier and had

32:25

the best time in my entire life.

32:25

I'm keeping that period of

32:29

miles, and a dime, Gozzo and

32:29

treasured. But it also propelled

32:33

me into other areas of my life

32:33

and other chapters. And if it

32:37

weren't for that, there's, I

32:37

believe in nature versus

32:40

nurture. And so I have to, as

32:40

you say, give homage and say

32:45

thank you 1000 times, success is

32:45

built on a million thank yous.

32:50

And I don't know how much more I

32:50

can do for people to show my

32:55

appreciation without begging or

32:55

doing something, I still want to

33:00

keep that honor. And, and I'm

33:00

cool with that. I like things

33:05

like that. And I encourage my

33:05

peers and my classmates who have

33:09

been successful in their own

33:09

careers that have done podcasts

33:13

or become doctors and attorneys

33:13

or have had things published or

33:16

have raised beautiful families.

33:16

I love it. And I and I'm the

33:22

first one to write things and

33:22

make phone calls. And, and I'm

33:25

also the kind of friend that

33:25

calls not to ask for anything

33:28

just to see how you're doing. I

33:28

don't need anything from you.

33:31

I'll just go and say, Hey, Dustin, what's up, man? How you been, though. And those are true

33:33

friends. Those are friends that

33:38

call when the cameras are off.

33:38

And those are the friends that

33:40

remember details about yourself,

33:40

and are interested in your life.

33:46

And that love you sincerely, and

33:46

no questions asked will take

33:51

your phone call. And those are

33:51

the greatest people I've ever

33:55

met. And I was very fortunate

33:55

growing up where it was to find

33:59

those kinds of people that had

33:59

that sort of commitment towards

34:02

one another at such a young age.

34:02

And they were tough. And they

34:08

were great in athletics, and

34:08

they fell in love and we were

34:11

confident and cocky and we had

34:11

our Northeast Philly thing. And

34:15

whatever that special sauces

34:15

that I got, it enabled me to

34:21

take this smile, this

34:21

personality and this bravado

34:25

internationally and be very,

34:25

very well received.

34:32

I know you're

34:32

not distant while you are

34:35

distant because you're in Costa

34:35

Rica. But I know you're not

34:38

distant to what's going on in

34:38

business today and something

34:41

that we had brought up in the

34:41

past, like 20 minutes ago,

34:46

right? was the fact that morale

34:46

is down in some of these

34:50

businesses and there are unhappy

34:50

employees and all of these

34:56

negatives which I don't want to

34:56

I don't want to be negative My

35:00

question for you is actually on

35:00

the positive side of things.

35:03

Sure, what? First and foremost,

35:03

what do you think some of these

35:07

businesses opportunities are

35:07

based off of what you're seeing?

35:11

And how would you if you had

35:11

advice, how would you do things

35:15

differently, kind of like what

35:15

you're doing when you run your

35:18

own business, to create morale?

35:18

That is, it just create an

35:25

environment where people want to

35:25

come and work, they want to come

35:27

and work and produce whatever

35:27

needs to be done to be

35:32

successful.

35:34

I can only speak

35:34

for myself, and I'll get to my

35:37

own company culture, for sure.

35:37

Other people have to pay their

35:40

dues. And I don't know what

35:40

anyone is expecting for Daddy

35:44

Warbucks to walk out of his

35:44

office, pat you on the head and

35:47

say, great job, and I appreciate

35:47

your compliment earlier about me

35:50

being a boss. I'm just old

35:50

school man, I like to high five

35:52

people on my sports team. But

35:52

why don't we do this in Spanish,

35:56

there's an expression por lo

35:56

Manos, which means at least at

36:00

every job I had, I was selective

36:00

of the jobs that I had with

36:03

Telemundo and Barton beers and

36:03

selling Corona. But that's not

36:06

the point. I had leverage. I was

36:06

marketable. So I could choose I

36:09

just didn't have to go work

36:09

somewhere. But also, there were

36:13

other jobs. And I'm not going to

36:13

mention certain names. I was a

36:16

waiter a couple times and I had

36:16

to do other things. And I had my

36:19

moments of clarity. But I also

36:19

said, If I can't master this

36:23

level, how am I going to get to

36:23

the next level? If I can't show

36:26

up on time other than other

36:26

people? How am I going to get to

36:29

the next level? So I was I was

36:29

trying to get a lot of first

36:31

downs to get touchdown. And even

36:31

though I'm making $10 an hour,

36:36

the experience I'm getting could

36:36

be worth $100 An hour later.

36:40

What do you mean, Richard will

36:40

look at me now by working at

36:44

Corona, beer and Telemundo and

36:44

doing that grunt work, and

36:48

following up with emails or

36:48

prior to that, phone calls, and

36:53

visiting people, and showing up

36:53

to the office at the ready and

36:57

taking notes and taking notes.

36:57

You want to hear a funny story.

37:03

The first job I had postgraduate

37:03

with Frontier Communications. I

37:07

was selling broadcast faxing,

37:07

and domestic rates against ATT,

37:12

MCI and Sprint. No, I wasn't I

37:12

was going to southwest Phenix

37:16

and doing international race

37:16

where I was crushing it. I was

37:19

doing exceptionally well. I even

37:19

sold a T one for anyone in the

37:21

industry. But my story is about

37:21

taking notes. I had no idea some

37:26

of this technology and I was

37:26

sitting there one day and my

37:29

supervisor Bob was telling

37:29

everybody the 10 of us what

37:32

broadcast faxes and that fax

37:32

machines had analog and

37:36

monologue settings depending on

37:36

your phone. Do you remember that

37:40

back in the day? And so what

37:40

would happen was this one guy

37:46

Rob was on this deal. And he was

37:46

trying to show how to do

37:48

broadcast faxing. And for

37:48

something happened at the last

37:51

minute. It didn't work kind of

37:51

like when they do these Apple

37:54

presentations, you know, in

37:54

front of people. And so I turned

37:56

to page seven Aiko, did you put

37:56

it in mono? The analog, and the

38:01

boss looks at me. He goes, Well

38:01

done, Richard. Yeah, well done.

38:04

Richard. I had no clue what I

38:04

was. But after that, I talked

38:07

about it. You know, 25 years

38:07

later. What did I do? I took

38:12

notes I showed up on time I

38:12

learned people's names. I didn't

38:16

do backstabbing, I earned it

38:16

through merit. I made my phone

38:19

calls. I was a good kid. If

38:19

someone got a deal, I

38:22

congratulated. I knocked on the

38:22

door of my supervisor and ask

38:25

clarification questions. I

38:25

stayed late not because it's

38:28

because I was making phone calls

38:28

to set up for the following day.

38:32

Don't you get it? If you pass by

38:32

my office, and you see me here

38:35

on a Saturday night, it's not

38:35

because I'm behind gotcha golf.

38:39

I'm two weeks ahead. I'm way

38:39

ahead. And so those are the

38:44

kinds of things that you see in

38:44

somebody, you have no idea what

38:47

their dedicated practice is, you

38:47

have no idea what it takes for

38:51

me to be successful. I make it

38:51

look easy. It is easy. But when

38:57

you're building buildings, it

38:57

takes a lot of bricks and it

38:59

takes time. And so the greatest

38:59

thing for somebody to do is just

39:05

have foundations, do all the

39:05

basics that were taught to you

39:09

know your manners, and realize

39:09

your common sense. If your

39:14

intuition is kicking in, say

39:14

something to somebody, oh, if

39:20

you have the luxury of time,

39:20

then why don't you write a draft

39:23

and not send it? Why don't you

39:23

sleep on it and make the phone

39:26

call the next day? Because

39:26

there's a very good chance you

39:29

might have overextended

39:29

yourself. You might be able to

39:32

readjust your tone. And you can

39:32

see where the priorities are.

39:37

I've been able to save business

39:37

relationships, people have saved

39:41

Thanksgiving dinners and even

39:41

worst case scenarios marriages

39:45

by listening by literally

39:45

understanding and there are

39:49

certain you can fall on certain

39:49

swords. For an example, if your

39:55

dog is barking on a phone call,

39:55

and I literally can't hear you

40:00

And it's killing the call

40:00

inadvertently and passive

40:03

aggressively, I'm going to ask

40:03

your dog's name, what breed it

40:06

is, and how old is your puppy,

40:06

you'll get the head, we'll talk

40:10

about your dog for a little bit.

40:10

And that's a great way for me to

40:13

anchor something that's a me to

40:13

technique, then you'll usually

40:17

come back and ask my name, again

40:17

for clarification and named drop

40:20

me the rest of the call. If

40:20

people are not in the now dos,

40:25

and they're jumping ahead for

40:25

the future, the past, they're

40:28

gonna miss that you're on a 10

40:28

minute call, it just took one

40:31

second to hear that dog barking.

40:31

And that's the sort of thing

40:34

that could have angered me to

40:34

get you the upsell to be able to

40:37

close this deal. And so that's

40:37

the sort of thing that we do

40:45

here. I need somebody to be

40:45

balanced, I need somebody to

40:50

breathe. And when I listen to

40:50

your phone calls, and we discuss

40:53

your KPIs and your coaching and

40:53

training, you said it best, I

40:57

pay you to confirm your email

40:57

address and to talk about my my

41:01

products. Dustin has a frickin

41:01

genius was talking about soft

41:06

skills, bedside manner, this

41:06

sort of thing, as you know, is

41:11

worth 10 times more than what

41:11

you're pitching. And that's

41:16

where I give the most points if

41:16

if the client says your name and

41:19

the body of the call, not the

41:19

introduction or the conclusion,

41:22

but if you can land that anchor

41:22

in the middle of the call by

41:26

doing a confirmation question

41:26

falling on those swords for

41:29

clarification, to not do rabbit

41:29

holes and and adjust tones I am.

41:36

I like stalking open ended

41:36

questions for people because

41:39

sometimes people desert pitches

41:39

just go through a whole list

41:42

without any reinforcement. And

41:42

knows that the sort of things

41:48

that you need to pause and make

41:48

camp from time to time, people

41:52

may react with a sound with

41:52

typing with clicking with a

41:55

noise. You know, when you're

41:55

when you eliminate three of your

42:00

senses on a phone called us your

42:00

taste, touch and smell, you

42:04

should expand your hearing fine.

42:04

But a lot of my class will argue

42:09

with me in regards to site on

42:09

the phone and and I believe in

42:13

Image Streaming, I believe in

42:13

metaphysics, I believe in

42:16

descriptions and imagination.

42:16

There's nothing wrong with

42:20

making your speech more

42:20

colorful. So you become a

42:22

painting instead of print. Can

42:22

this be taught? Everyone's got

42:29

it in them. But the moment

42:29

you're not afraid to walk across

42:32

the eighth, eighth grade dance

42:32

floor and ask that girl to

42:36

dance. You're the man. And I

42:36

need these people to break that

42:42

sort of final 10% demon that

42:42

they have that is holding them

42:48

back. And then they can change

42:48

that head from a negative to a

42:53

positive and live in a sort of

42:53

whoo way. No resistance

42:59

philosophy. Don't be surprised

42:59

if their numbers don't go

43:03

through the roof. They're making a fortune.

43:08

The devil is in

43:08

the details. That's the biggest

43:12

piece of advice that I've gotten

43:12

from being born all the way up

43:15

until now. And he just

43:15

solidified that in 45 minutes,

43:20

pretty much in my opinion. So

43:20

it's, it's all about how you

43:25

approach things. And it's all

43:25

about how you use the soft

43:30

skills that I know everybody

43:30

has. But they blatantly don't

43:33

use sometimes right? To create

43:33

that door

43:37

or the don't

43:37

wanna use them. They're in a bad

43:39

mood that they got to snap out

43:39

of it. Yeah, it's like a boxer.

43:43

Remember Chuck Wepner verse

43:43

Ollie Rocky. Yeah, he literally

43:47

almost made he did go the

43:47

distance. But in the 50 the God,

43:50

something happened. How do you

43:50

go 14 and 15 and a half rounds

43:55

perfectly. What happened in that

43:55

15 rounds without one second

44:01

that I lead took advantage of

44:01

and got him down. Because he was

44:05

doing it minute by minute.

44:05

Second by second and round by

44:09

round this guy was more focus

44:09

more are laser focused than

44:14

anything in his entire life. And

44:14

if people can focus on 32nd to

44:19

two minute intervals there,

44:19

there might be a better control

44:22

there.

44:23

I agree. 100%.

44:23

So now, since we're nearing the

44:27

end of our time, I do want to

44:27

bring up something important. We

44:31

got two more things. The first

44:31

thing is, is we kind of alluded

44:35

to it right? You are the CEO of

44:35

your call center in Costa Rica.

44:41

Let's talk about what you do.

44:45

We are a

44:45

bilingual nearshore dedicated

44:47

Call Center currently 150 agents

44:47

like about 300 of my location.

44:51

So very my 15th year February 6.

44:51

It's a competitive industry but

44:57

it's a beautiful industry. I

44:57

still believe in the art of

44:59

speech. We work in campaigns

44:59

that deal with outbound lead

45:03

generation appointment setting

45:03

sales, inbound customer store,

45:06

back office support. I have a

45:06

CTO of floor manager, human

45:12

resources director, accountants,

45:12

attorneys. I needed people to

45:16

assist me to grow. I couldn't do

45:16

it all on my own. These are

45:19

experts here. And I have that

45:19

leap of faith. That's fine. My

45:24

wife Grace per bone. And I, we

45:24

started this together. And so I

45:27

might be the owner. But she's

45:27

the boss. Remember that

45:31

gentleman? But I love what I do.

45:31

Is it a grind? Well, so is

45:36

everything just like Sisyphus

45:36

pushing that rock up the hill?

45:40

Nothing's easy. Why do you think

45:40

diamonds and gold are deep

45:45

underground, and you got to

45:45

travel so far to the stars. And

45:49

I knew that if I could conquer

45:49

Spanish, I could almost do

45:51

anything else. And to answer

45:51

your question about this, about

45:55

this business environment, these

45:55

days I It could happen and

45:59

anything could happen. And I

45:59

kind of see my life like Zorba

46:03

the Greek, I'm willing to put my

46:03

arms out and dance on the beach,

46:06

if my fishing boat happens to

46:06

sing. If I had closed one deal

46:10

for one week, it would have been

46:10

nor have more than enough to

46:13

last me the rest of my life. And

46:13

the fact that I've come this

46:17

far, and I have enough money to

46:17

pay for enough dinners for the

46:20

rest of my life, I'm, I have

46:20

enough acorns to last winters.

46:26

So I don't have that sort of

46:26

pressure anymore. So really, if

46:31

you can get to this sort of

46:31

stage in life, that the best

46:34

thing for you to do in in this

46:34

business just to pay it forward.

46:37

But I don't want people to burn

46:37

out, I want to give them clean

46:41

campaigns, I want to focus on

46:41

their QA, so they become more

46:44

marketable and better. And I try

46:44

to promote people as much as I

46:48

can in this industry. And if you

46:48

can record yourself, and you can

46:53

write and you can listen to

46:53

yourself, besides work, you

46:57

should have some of the best

46:57

relationships possible. And just

47:00

by being in this industry, which

47:00

is so focused on on your vocal

47:05

skills and being glib and

47:05

clever, as a match made in

47:08

heaven, I was able to use things

47:08

outward outside of the office to

47:12

have some best friends and a

47:12

beautiful life. And so maybe I

47:16

gravitated towards this. Maybe

47:16

it was my vision, quest and

47:21

destiny that brought me here.

47:21

You tell me some six year old

47:25

that tells her Mommy didn't want

47:25

to be a telemarketer, let alone

47:27

a CEO of a call center. And

47:27

nobody does. I wanted to be a

47:31

fire man. But I'm glad I left my

47:31

castle slayed a dragon, save the

47:36

princess and became a prince, my

47:36

brother, I had my adventure. I

47:40

did it. And I did it my way.

47:40

Maybe I was a little selfish. I

47:45

had to get past certain

47:45

pressures and guilt and

47:48

expectations. But at the end of

47:48

the day, at the end of the day,

47:52

Dustin, I lived my life. And I

47:52

did it well. And at the end of

47:59

the day, the family's proud of

47:59

you too. They might have not

48:03

understood it. They expected

48:03

other things. But if my great

48:08

grandfather came to the United

48:08

States at the turn of the 20th

48:11

learned English and was in the

48:11

garment industry in New York,

48:15

came from Russia and Romania.

48:15

Why can I do the same, just

48:18

skipped a couple generations.

48:18

And I'm going south because the

48:21

weather's better. But it's in

48:21

our blood, my man, we're nomads,

48:27

we needed that adventure. And if

48:27

I didn't have that, I don't

48:30

think I'd be able to look in the

48:30

mirror, give myself five and

48:35

respect myself for the rest of

48:35

my life.

48:39

And for my

48:39

listeners i As you can tell, I

48:42

enjoy my conversation with

48:42

Richard because he's very

48:46

articulate one two, he's he's

48:46

been through a lot. And three,

48:49

he just said a key thing that I

48:49

believe in which is we we aren't

48:56

we aren't bound to what our

48:56

parents or grandparents or

49:00

whatever did we're bound to what

49:00

we make of life. And Richard's

49:05

made quite a life for himself,

49:05

doing what he does best. And

49:10

yeah, I agree. At six year years

49:10

old, I didn't say I was going to

49:14

be an influencer or a podcast,

49:14

podcast owner or any of that

49:19

stuff. I wanted to be a sports

49:19

agent. Well, I fell a little

49:23

short of that. But I still am

49:23

doing some similar stuff to what

49:27

they do, which is talking with

49:27

people relating with people

49:30

giving information to people to

49:30

help them be the better version

49:34

of themselves.

49:36

Exactly. That's

49:36

why we're here today my man.

49:39

Yeah, I mean, I

49:39

couldn't ask for anything

49:41

better. I do have one more

49:41

thing. And I do this with

49:44

everyone. Of course one big

49:44

piece of advice that you would

49:48

leave to my listeners. What would that be?

49:51

Just don't be so

49:51

hard on yourself. Fortune favors

49:54

the brain. Patience is a virtue

49:54

you want many coaches six other

49:58

things but I also believe I

49:58

believe in me time. Listen, I do

50:04

pinball marathons on Sunday, I

50:04

drive my convertible to work

50:07

listening to in excess. And I

50:07

hit the gym every day. I need

50:12

Richard time. If I can't find my

50:12

balance and center, how can I

50:16

extend that energy to others.

50:16

And so make your bed Eat Well

50:21

rest. Tell those, you love that

50:21

you love them very much. And try

50:28

to live a beautiful life you

50:28

only get one and you only get

50:30

100 years and I'm halfway there.

50:30

So let's see what happens in the

50:33

second half.

50:35

There's nowhere

50:35

to go but up in the second half

50:38

in my opinion.

50:39

I can't get any

50:39

Balder wherever you're gonna go

50:43

that hey, listen, we're gonna make that second half work. I'm I'm, let's

50:44

see, I'm in the second quarter

50:48

of the half right now. So,

50:48

exactly. Well, Richard, I

50:53

enjoyed my time with you. I'm

50:53

sure my listeners have enjoyed

50:56

listening to this. So I

50:56

appreciate you coming on. And of

51:00

course, appreciate all the

51:00

wisdom that you've given to us

51:02

today.

51:03

Thanks, my

51:03

brother. I'm a huge fan of you

51:06

and chopping with fire and I'm

51:06

going to continue to listen to

51:09

you and all of your guests.

51:11

I appreciate that my friend. Thank you for coming on. And I look forward to

51:13

actually having you again

51:16

probably for a repeat to be

51:16

honest

51:18

with you. My pleasure. I got tons of things to talk about.

51:21

Me too. We can

51:21

talk forever. So thank you

51:24

again. I appreciate that.

51:26

You got it, my

51:26

man. Have a great day. You too.